Turkey has increasingly put its footprint on scripted and non-scripted formats that can travel, with both drama The End and competition series Keep Your Light Shining selling to the U.S. in the past year. Global Agency, which handled the latter, has now sold its modern-day drama series 1,001 Nights into Uruguay via Canal 10 S.A.E.T.A TV, and to MundoFox for Hispanic audiences in the U.S. The series, originally titled Binbir Gece, previously sold to Chile where it has had strong ratings in primetime and has become the most successful import in the country’s history. The performance has opened the way for new negotiations in other countries in the region such as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil. It previously aired in Turkey for three seasons on Kanal D and is also shown in more than 50 markets, primarily in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America.

Amid escalating tension in the region, the Jerusalem Film Festival has announced that director Spike Jonze has cancelled his masterclass that was to be held today. In a post on the festival website, Jonze wrote: “Dear filmmakers and filmgoers. I apologize for not being there with you tonight. It felt like the wrong time for me to be talking about movies with everything going on. I hope you understand. I will come back again and screen movies and talk film with you when the time is right. My heart is with you and everyone who is suffering right now.” The event, which concludes tomorrow, had previously postponed its opening-night world premiere of Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs to July 17, but has now cancelled an outdoor screening. My former colleagues at Screen, who have been covering the fest on-site, note that a number of other high-profile guests including Ulrich Seidl have cancelled their appearances amid the conflict.

Toronto-based Elevation Pictures has signed an exclusive distribution services agreement with Universal Studios Home Entertainment Canada. Under the deal, Universal will be the exclusive Blu-ray and DVD sales and distribution partner for Elevation’s portfolio of current and upcoming films and TV programs. The first title is genre film Oculus, which is slated for home entertainment release in Canada on August 5. Elevation was founded by Laurie May and Noah Segal in 2013 with finance partner Teddy Schwarzman of Black Bear Pictures. The company entered a market that was ripe for a new distribution outlet after eOne’s takeover of Aliance. It has since built up its theatrical release slate with such upcoming titles as The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch; JC Chandor’s A Most Violent Year; Nightcrawlers starring Jake Gyllenhaal; American Ultra with Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart; John Hillcoat’s Triple Nine; Alejandro Amenobar’s Regression; American Express starring Charlize Theron; and Sing Street, to be directed by John Carney.

A jury of film students chaired by director Giuliano Montaldo will award the Venice Classics prize for Best Restored Film and for Best Documentary on Cinema at the Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 27-September 6. Among the films screening in the program are Marco Bellocchio’s 1967 La Cina E Vicina (China Is Near), winner of the Special Jury Prize that year and restored by Sony Pictures Entertainment in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna. In all, 21 titles make up the selection. Also included in the list of 18 features are Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1955 Guys And Dolls starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra; François Truffaut’s 1968 Baisers Volés (Stolen Kisses); Roman Polanski’s 1971 The Tragedy Of Macbeth; Umberto D by Vittorio De Sica; Ettore Scola’s Una Giornata Particolare (A Special Day); Bez Końca (No End) by Krzysztof Kieślowski; Mouchette by Robert Bresson; Jack Clayton’s The Innocents; and Anthony Mann’s The Man From Laramie.